A user of a “desk-top” or office-based personal computer regardless or make or model soon experiences the clutter of a “desk-full” of hardware and cables. This includes the keyboard, the usual monitor whether the older CRT or the less bulky LCD type and a mouse. Each of these user interface accessories usually have cables and wires scattered-about that connect to their respective ports on the hind-side of the computer's tower or desk-top base unit.
My invention affords a superior degree of convenience and a riddance of the workspace clutter by unitizing the keyboard, the display monitor and the mouse into a singular readily portable hardware apparatus not unlike the configuration afforded by a common laptop or notebook computer. I extend my invention to include adaptation of a portable computer for the application or to provide the display and keyboard functions in a conjoined portable construct void of data processing or storage capability.
Generally speaking my teaching allows the clutter-reducing melding of the keyboard and display afforded by a notebook computer's configuration with the optimal speed, computational power and storage capacity of a conventional desktop computer or office workstation.
I recognize that previous attempts for using a personal computer in association with a desktop computer have been accomplished, but I find only to the extent of utilizing the existing port connections (e.g., the serial RS232C connection afforded by the COM ports long associated with generic IBM-type PC computers. The installation of interlink software enables a portable personal computer to at least perform as though it were merely a “dumb terminal” when intercoupled with the desktop computer via the serial COM port. My present invention advances far beyond this “serial port” interface, in that by reconfiguring the notebook computer's usual ports, they may connect directly to the desktop computer's usual keyboard input and video output ports and fully supplant the structurally separate external keyboard and display used with the typical desktop computer installation. The result is the smaller footprint of the notebook computer's usual integrated display and keyboard arrangement contribute a considerable savings in valuable workstation space.